AYE DIOS! HELP ME UNDERSTAND!

Originally published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Aug. 25, 2009

Every now and then, I pull out the Mexican fishing regulations. It’s a good thing to read over now and again. Every time I read it I find other things that make me shake and scratch my head.

Like so many laws here in Mexico, even giving the legislators the benefit of the doubt, I just don’t get it. Who’s writing the laws and/or what planet/country/ ocean are these laws applied to?

I won’t go over the whole list. I already know I’m going to get e-mails and calls, but check out some of the little “points” where you can get busted if the regulations are interpreted and enforced as they are written.

They are as archaic and nutty as some of those laws still in the books in the U.S. like the ones that say it’s “prohibited to ride a horse on Mainstreet on Sunday” or “eating ice cream in public on weeknights is illegal.” You get the idea. Check out a few gems I found in the Mexican fishing regs:

• “Each fisherman is permitted to use a single rod and reel or a single line with a hook, bait or lure…It is prohibited to have the simultaneous operation of more than one fishing rod.”

As I read that and as it has been enforced of late in some areas of the Baja, that means ONE rod in use per person. So, trolling 4, 5, 6 or more rods on a cruiser with short lines, long lines, riggers, etc. is prohibited. One means ONE!

• Did you know that “Live bait chumming is not allowed except when authorized during fishing tournaments.”

Whoa! Everyone reading this who has fished the Baja, a long range boat, a charter boat or panga who has NEVER used live bait to chum, raise your hand! I thought so.

It’s a common practice. It’s like that old saying among divers who pee in wetsuits. “Sixty percent do it and the other 40 percent are liars!” Don’t act shocked. Yes, we’ve all chummed with live bait!

• “Live bait may be used only for the FIRST TWO specimens captured each day. After that, bait must be dead, either fresh or unfrozen.”

Hehehehe…Of course! After the first two fish are caught, we shut off the aerators in the bait tanks and let the sardines, caballitos and mackerel die. Yessiree, Senor. Just paid 20 bucks for that load of bait. Love seeing them just float upside down in the bait tank.

• “For the capture of deep sea fish or live bait…the use of 3 prong hooks is prohibited.”

Think about that. Surely, they can’t mean your throwing iron? Or your Rapalas, Yo-zuris, Megabaits, etc. Say it ain’t so! What about squid jigs? Those have a set of mean prongs. But maybe squid aren’t considered “deep sea fish”. But some folks do consider them bait. Frankly, I consider them calamari salad. Or breaded and fried!

• “The weight of a line must NOT exceed 130lb (test).”

Has anyone told all the anglers fishing in the big upcoming tournaments like the Bisbees and WON Tuna that their leaders can’t exceed 130 lb. test?

Oh-oh…dangit, now we all have to re-rig our lures and leaders! And remember, only ONE rod per angler at a time. No multiple trolling rods out there! By the way, it’s also prohibited to derive any “economic benefit” from any sport caught fish. So, there goes those big money prize packages too! But if you win an outboard motor, isn’t that an economic benefit?

I’m not trying to make light of the legislation. However, I am trying to point out that some of the regs are simply unrealistic or unenforceable. As written, it encourages either disregard for the law as we openly sneak around. Conversely, it encourages the Mexican government to wink and look sideways when it behooves them NOT to enforce the laws as they are written or simply promotes uneven enforcement. That just confuses EVERYONE!

Nothing worse than laws that can’t be enforced, understood or not applied uniformly.



Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor for Western Outdoor News and his column appears every other week. He can be reached in La Paz at: riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com

PHOTO: If you want big fish, you have to go the extra mile and put in the extra time. Cole Chavira is 11 -years-old, but consistenly nails big fish here in La Paz.

SWINGING FOR THE FENCHES

Originally published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Aug. 11, 2009

To use sports parlance, “swinging for the fence” means taking the big swing for the home run hit…going for the big one…the game winner. Forget the little dinks to the infield. You may strike out more taking the big swing, but then when you pop it into the bleachers, you’re the hero.

It works that way in fishing. There always seems to be the one or two guys in the group or on the boat who forego filling their sacks or their ice chests with filets just for the sake of filets. They want the jackpot fish. They want bragging rights. Quality over quantity. Anyone can catch 10-pound dinks. They want the big toad.

This is the guy you often see at the bow of the sportfisher tirelessly throwing iron while everyone hoots and hollers in the stern getting bent on smaller fish. This is the guy who looks carefully at every bait or ties on the heavy leader and bigger gear and doesn’t worry that he’s not bit on every drop.

Two rules of thumb:

1. There are fewer bigger fish than smaller fish. They’re the top of the food chain. They’re big for a reason. They’re smarter, stronger, faster. If all fish were big anyone could catch them.
2. Big fish…big bait. Any fish could wrap it’s maw around a 5 inch sardine. It takes a big fish to wrap it choppers around a 5 pound bonito! So use bigger baits and lures!

OK, once you’ve resolved that you probably will NOT catch as many fish as your
partners since you’re going for Big Mo’, you’ll get past Rule #1. Grit your teeth and smile as your friends rib you while they catch all the little guys. Big fish are their own reward!

For Rule #2, again grit your teeth. Create your own luck by putting in some extra time. That means using the larger lures or jigs. It means longer trolling or throwing time and really working hard at it. It means keeping your eyes open for that ONE BIG FISH! Remember, you’re not after quantity…you want quality.

If you’re fishing with live bait or natural baits, again, put in the time. When everyone else is loading on sardines, go catch some mackerel or caballitos (little jacks). If you’re chasing roosterfish, they love the larger ladyfish. Go catch those first. Imagine something that can swallow an 18-inch live bait!

The pargo and bigger snapper like having a smaller barracuda or needlefish (yes, there’s a use for those pesky needlefish) I personally like cutting off one of the tail fins and then making light scores with a sharp knife along the flanks of the bait (for scent and blood). It makes the bait swim erratically.

If it’s larger billfish you’re after, go fish for the small tuna or skipjack/bonito first. Use the small baits to catch the bonito or skippies or, alternatively, drag some small hoochies or bonito feathers off the transom to catch the larger baits. When everyone is peeling out with their anchovies or sardines to the fishing grounds, you’re putting in the extra time to get some of the larger baits. It pays off.

If you’re using dead baits, again, use the larger stuff. Big slabs of bonito or similar fish dropped down deep will entice the grouper, big dog tooth and cabrilla. Belly strips of dorado, bonito, tuna or even squid tacked onto the hook inside your feather or larger lure adds scent and something to bite down on and not let go!

Even if larger dorado are the quarry, large strips of slow-trolled bonito slabs on a swiveled leader will produce fish when other methods come up empty!

You may get lots of swings and misses. But when you connect… run the diamond slowly and pump your fist. Touch all the bases and be the hero!



That's my story. If you ever need to reach me here in Mexico, I"m at:

riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com